Inspiration
by SammyQuill
Summary: Jiraiya is stuck while writing the first Icha Icha volume? Maybe a former teammate can help? Many many thanks to Ze for being my idea bouncer and ScaryRei from the kakasaku FC for making this fic work. If you like it, the credit goes entirely to her.


Jiraiya lifted his hand holding the pen and scratched his scalp underneath the long white hair. No matter how he looked at it, he was completely out of ideas.

From working on his very first book, Jiraiya had learned not to force the words out when they just wouldn't come. He had also learned that finding inspiration in sake was not the best idea. Of course, his first book wasn't exactly a best seller and he doubted anyone other than Minato had actually read it so perhaps sake was the way to go…

No, he needed to think straight. He had taken himself up on his own suggestion of adding a sexier angle to his books to better appeal to the masses, but now he was stuck. How does one add sexy parts to a book without being vulgar? Did he even _want_ his books to be available to only a certain age group? The Sannin could certainly not afford to lose any more readers, especially at the rate he was going.

Stifling a small sigh, Jiraiya brought his pen down once again on a spare piece of paper and absently started doodling. He needed something sexy, yet subtle. Something that was intimate and meaningful, but not outright porn. He needed… a woman to research on…

Unfortunately, he doubted that any bath houses or such would be open at this time of night. And going to a pub or club was out seeing as "research" would come at a heavy price in the form of a hangover the next morning – and hadn't he already decided that sake was not helpful in the current situation?

So that left him with what, his own imagination? Past experiences? Seeing as the former was what he was having trouble with in the first place, the toad sage decided to dwell upon the latter.

There had been a lot of women in his life, and not just in the sexual or intimate way either. Most people just assumed Jiraiya to be a pervert because he peeked at naked women and flirted left and right. However the truth of the matter was that women fascinated him. Everything about them, from the way they spoke to the way they dressed to the way they thought and reasoned. It was Jiraiya's life-long goal - ever since he had met Tsunade back when they were still Genin - to understand how this strange species worked. And if he could have a little fun on the way, he didn't see any harm in that.

So who was the sexiest female he had ever seen? There was Miroku, the girl at the teashop in the Land of Waves. She had been no older than fifteen when Jiraiya had met her and had been enchanted by the way her soft dark blue hair fell down to her waist, the tips of her ponytail just brushing the top of her hip. Her dark blue eyes on a pale face complimented her hair to perfection. If Jiraiya ever had to choose the best hair in the world, Miroku's would win hands down.

He remembered going to that teashop day after day, just to watch the young girl as she went about her business. He would never have flirted with her or been sexually interested for she was barely more than a child, but her beauty entranced him to no end. Simply watching her take orders, rearranging crockery and cleaning up tables was a joy in itself. He thought back to the few times when her hair would come lose from their clip and she would stop what she was doing to tie them more firmly. Jiraiya had never seen anything more beautiful.

Alright, so his hero's fantasy woman would have long hair. However, the color might have to change. While blue hair suited Miroku to perfection, he wasn't sure if it would fit in with his character, since he had yet to decide on her other facial features

Alright, hair done, what next? Eyes? The Sannin closed his own eyes in hopes of inspiration; as he started thinking about the most seductive eyes he had ever seen. In truth, he had seen a lot. Eyes framed by fake lashes, by real long lashes, by eye make up, brilliant eyes hidden behind sun glasses, eyes full of lust induced by excessive amounts of alcohol, eyes asking for sex, eyes pleading for their lives, blank dead eyes… yes, he had seen a lot of eyes in his life. But perhaps the ones that left the biggest impression were big golden ones, eyes filled with warmth, eyes that said "you can count on me, no matter what" even if they owner of said eyes beat you up on a regular basis-

_Shit!_

Jiraiya quickly snapped open his own two eyes and glanced around, as though somehow _she_ would know that he was thinking of her and break through his door just to tell him where he could shove his thoughts. Once reassured that there was no way Tsunade would know and that he had set sensory jutsu all along the corridors which would alert him to intruders well before they barged through his door, he allowed himself to further examine his earlier interrupted thoughts.

Yes, no matter what else the woman lacked, he had to admit she had magnificent eyes. That were sexy and seductive (and Jiraiya knew the vast difference between the two) and called a man to bed as much as they told him to fuck off. That was part of their charm. Now that Jiraiya thought about it, he could never be sure of the exact shade of his former teammate's eyes. It seemed they were as mercurial as her temperament.. Sometimes they were just golden, sometimes hard yellow, sometimes butterscotch or topaz. But no matter what shade they were, they were always blazing or twinkling with their secrets.

Jiraiya had once mentioned this to her when they were young. She had just passed her Chuunin exams and Sarutobi Sensei had offered to take the entire team to lunch. However, Orochimaru had to go and the Jounin himself had been urgently summoned just as they reached the restaurant, which left Tsunade with a frown on her face – one that Jiraiya knew to foreshadow sadness. He could see it written all over her pretty face – _I've finally become a Chuunin and nobody cares_. Jiraiya had not been thinking or trying to flirt, he just wanted to make that small frown go away and found himself blurting, "Well, the two of us can always go – my treat!"

Just like magic, that frowned cleared up; he had succeeded in making her happy but not for long as was always the case with the temperamental girl.

It was over a bowl of ramen that he had ushered in his own downfall. He had been watching her eat with gusto (Tsunade never ate like other girls, and she always declared that carrots, celery sticks and other vegetables were for rabbits, not shinobi) and he had noticed how her eyes sparkled. His big mistake came when he actually voiced out his observations.

"_What?_"

"Well, they are. And they grow really wide and big when you swallow the fish cake. And some weird light comes in them when the noodles are hanging out of your mou-"

Her sound punch in his stomach had ensured his silence, and the fact that she would never eat ramen – or anything – with him for months afterwards. Thinking back, Jiraiya cringed at his own attempts at a compliment to those eyes. Well, he could only hope he would do a better job this time around in his book – if it ever got finished. Maybe he would dedicate it to her as an apology for back then – women liked that sort of gesture.

So now he had hair and eyes. He was sure he would have to keep the original color of the other Sannin's eyes seeing as the feeling he wanted to convey would only work with the honey colored eyes he had admired for so long. So now he had to match the hair… Would a nice rich brown suffice, with blond highlights to bring out the eyes? No, the hair would just look drab next to the exuberant eyes. Perhaps a soft orange?

The only hair that went with Tsunade's eyes was her own, he realized with a start.

The thought did make sense though. Her pale buttery locks did bring out the darker tints in her eyes bountifully. And here Jiraiya realized his mistake earlier. He was trying to make the hair darker and less remarkable - as a kind of a showcase - for the eyes, but now he realized that true perfection would be the other way around – where the hair would become the brightly lit stage and the eyes the sparkling stars of the show. That's why Tsunade's eyes seemed to glow warmly no matter what., Her hair, which was a paler golden honey hue, beautifully framed and offset the intensity of her eyes. At one time, he had hoped those eyes would glow when she saw him, but he knew better than that by now.

Alright, so what if his fantasy women – his _lead's_ fantasy woman had Tsunade's hair and eyes? Golden eyes usually went with blond hair; it wasn't that much of a coincidence. He was sure that there were plenty of other women with the same combination, though he didn't remember seeing any recently. But that did not mean they weren't out there. If the book ever was published, Tsunade could not beat him up on the grounds of using her appearance for pornography – assuming that she even bothered to read it. When his first book had been published, he was so happy; he had signed and sent a free copy to both Tsunade and Orochimaru. While Orochimaru had made it clear that it was a waste and he didn't plan on even opening it, Tsunade had given a vague "Yeah, I'll look it over, congrats," and buried it in one of the pockets of her flak vest. He was almost certain she'd gone home and tossed it in a drawer somewhere to rot as she had never discussed the book with him after that. In a way, it had hurt more than Orochimaru's outright rejection.

Heck, just for that, he _would_ include some graphic sex in there; it would serve her right if she ever opened a copy. And if she never did, at least he would have something to secretly laugh about.

While he was going with her hair and eyes, why not just adopt the rest of her for the character as well? The same strong legs, the massive breasts, the deep curve of her chin, the glossy pink of her lips. Yes, the women in his book would look exactly like Tsunade but with a twist.

Jiraiya chuckled at himself. He realized he was still doodling and as his less than artistic creation was starting to take form, and _Kami_, he had unknowingly drawn the woman his thoughts had been engrossed with for the past half hour. Yes, sure enough, there was Tsunade, the large bust dominating her front as her hair hung beside her face in two ponytails as was her usual style. He wondered what the real person would think of this impromptu representation.

Folding the bit of paper carefully and putting it in one of the books, Jiraiya continued to ponder upon the twist he planned to give Tsunade's character in the book. He decided that the character's personality would be completely opposite to that of the female Sannin. Yes, his lead's fantasy would be gentle, docile, obedient, and everything Tsunade wasn't. Should his former teammate ever did feel the need to open her childhood friend's authored manuscript; she would be in for one hell of a shock. Seeing as the character's personality will be in so much contrast to her own, she would not have a proper reason to cause him bodily harm. Not like that would ever stop Tsunade, once she made up her mind on who deserved permanent damage on a skeletal lever but still… it _would_ be amusing as hell to watch her face as he denied all her accusations earnestly, pointing to the difference in personality and suggesting that perhaps she hadn't read the text carefully enough.

Letting out another chuckle at the thought of perhaps getting his ribs cracked once again, Jiraiya finally put pen to paper and began to write – his source of inspiration carefully tucked inside another book beside him. Although he did not know it then, looking at that silly little doodle would become his main source of inspiration over the years – whether he needed an idea to extend a plot for one of his books, or simply needed a reason to carry on in life.


End file.
